Chapter 169- Astraea

Arabella Toussaint:

We were all sitting in Lucien’s office after the mess in the security room, and judging by the looks Victor and Bradley kept giving each other, the fight clearly wasn’t over yet.

Bradley’s nose had already healed, and whatever damage he had done to Victor’s face was gone too. Apparently, their beasts could fix broken noses and bruised cheeks, but neither could do anything about their attitudes.

Lucien sat behind his desk, quietly turning the paperweight between his fingers while I sat beside him. Victor and Bradley occupied the chairs across from us, leaving a wide gap between them.

"So," Lucien finally said, placing the paperweight back on his desk. "Would either of you like to explain why my security office nearly turned into a fighting ring?"

"He started it—"

"That bastard was talking about—"

They both spoke at once, and somehow that only made them louder. Victor pointed at Bradley while Bradley leaned forward in his chair, talking right over him.

"Oh, Goddess."

I covered my ears with both hands as the headache I had been fighting since we came here started getting worse. Strangely, my stomach wasn’t helping either. I had eaten a proper breakfast that morning, yet I was already hungry again. I wanted food.

Maybe dealing with idiots burned more calories than I thought.

"Enough!" Lucien’s voice cut through the room, making both men finally shut up. He turned his attention to Victor. "You’re lucky I allowed you inside my palace, Toussaint. Don’t make me regret letting you into my office too."

Victor immediately lowered his head and bared his neck in submission to his King.

"I understand, Your Majesty. And I know I never got the chance to say this before, but I’m innocent. I didn’t kill Anika." His voice had lost the anger from a moment ago. "I’ll cooperate with whatever investigation you want. Ask me anything. Check anything. I have nothing to hide."

For once, he sounded like the more sensible one in the room, but then he decided to ruin it. "I assure you, I’ll cooperate, Your Majesty. But you might want to keep your Beta on a leash. He seems to bite without warning."

Bradley was out of his chair before Victor had even finished speaking, his fist already swinging toward him.

I rushed forward to stop him, and somehow reached Bradley much faster than I should have. My hand closed around his fist before it could connect with Victor’s face, stopping the punch midway.

"Enough, Bradley," I whispered, holding his fist firmly in my hand, "Stop this madness!"

It took me another second to realize what I had just done. The room went completely quiet.

I was still holding Bradley’s fist when I noticed the way everyone was looking at me. Victor’s smugness had disappeared, Bradley seemed confused, and even Lucien had frozen behind his desk.

I slowly released Bradley’s hand and stepped back, but before anyone could question me about it, Lucien drew their attention to himself. "Are you two done behaving like kindergarten kids?"

Neither of them answered.

"Good." Lucien looked at Victor. "You may leave now. You’ll be summoned when your presence is required again."

Victor gave him a small nod before getting to his feet. He behaved himself all the way to the door, but just before walking out, he glanced at Bradley and didn’t forget to give him a smug smile.

Bradley looked ready to follow him out and finish what they had started, but the door closed behind Victor.

Lucien turned to him. "Is it true? Anika was your mate? You never told us, Brad."

For someone who had been ready to kill Victor a minute ago, Bradley suddenly had nothing to say. He remained in his chair, looking down as though Lucien was talking to someone else.

"Bradley," I began, "why didn’t you—"

"I know." His head snapped up. "And I’m not here to answer any of you about that. It was something personal."

"Personal?" I snapped back. "We’re investigating her murder, and you thought you could keep something like this from us because it was personal?"

I gave him a disgusted look before turning to Lucien, expecting him to say something, but Bradley was already pushing himself out of the chair.

"Enough of this. I’m leaving, and no, I’m not answering any of your bullshit questions!" His voice hit my ears so loudly that I flinched and immediately covered them with both hands.

A sharp beep sound started inside my head. Perhaps Lucien was lecturing him about giving me respect.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block the sound as the office door slammed shut. The sound seemed to grow louder until I could barely hear anything else.

"Bella?" Lucien’s voice sounded distant at first. By the time I heard it again, he was standing close to me.

"Bella, are you all right?"

I shook my head without opening my eyes and pressed my hands harder against my ears, but the horrible beeping wouldn’t stop.

"I don’t know what’s happening." I kept my eyes closed. "Maybe it’s because I forgot to take my second cup of coffee."

Lucien’s hand came down gently over my head. "Okay, I’ll ask someone to bring it. "Maybe the effect of the poison is wearing off, and now you are experiencing side effects."

Maybe.

My body had been acting strange ever since my silent wolf started getting a little stronger, and I had no idea what was normal anymore.

Lucien returned to his desk and picked up the intercom. "One strong cup of coffee. Right now!"

He came back to me and bent down to scoop me into his arms. "That couch is more comfortable."

I didn’t try to argue as he carried me and settled me on the sofa. A few minutes later, my chef entered with a tray in his hands. He offered a respectful bow before bringing it over. "Your Highness."

"Please, place it here and leave."

He set the tray down on the table beside me, and that was when I noticed he had brought a small plate of cookies along with my coffee.

"Bella. You need some energy." I nodded and reached for a cookie first instead of that coffee cup.

I brought that tempting gooey stuff toward my mouth, but before I could take a bite, something stirred inside my head, making my hand stop midway.

"Hello, Arabella. How are you?"

What the fuck! Who was that?

"Oh, I’m sorry. Let me introduce myself. I’m your wolf, Astraea."